10 August 2008

Greetings Friends,

It is almost amusing to hear weather forecasters use the term "weather event" when describing an approaching storm, significant snow, damaging winds. I have no personal experience of earthquakes, hurricanes, or devastating fire, but I do know something about storms and fear.

I didn't know it at the time, but it was the last time I went fishing on Lake Michigan with my dad before his death. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon: not a cloud in the sky, calm waters, a comfortable 75 degrees. We headed out two miles east and set our lines for the "big catch". About a half hour later, my dad noticed a bank of clouds, which appeared out of nowhere, approaching from the west and said, "There's a front coming up fast. We had better pull the lines and head in". Almost immediately the wind kicked up and waves rocked the boat with increasing intensity. Dad told me to "take the wheel" while he finished pulling up the lines. Now, I had driven his boat several times without difficulty, and never got sea-sick but this was different. I had a lot of trouble handling the boat in such rough water - these waves were intense, rocking the boat with fierce abandon and crashing over the side. I pleaded with dad that I could not do this - I could not handle the boat. And he told me in no uncertain terms that I could and calmly told me what to do. His voice seemed a whispering to me for by this time the storm was in full force. And I was afraid - afraid we would not make it back to shore, afraid I would do something wrong and would capsize the boat, afraid for our very lives (and the life of my then unborn child). But I listened to dad's instructions, trusted in his confidence in me even though I would have preferred to cower in a corner somewhere, and eventually we made it back to the dock safe and sound.

The story of Elijah on the mountain is one of trust and fear and trust (1 Kings 19:11-13). He trusted he would encounter God on the mountain because God told him so. How could Elijah not be afraid given the "weather events" he endured: wind, earthquake, fire? And yet these are typical biblical symbols of God's presence! But it was in the tiny whispering sound where God was revealed to Elijah - a most unexpected place indeed and a place that called Elijah to trust God was present there.

Where do we hear the voice of God speaking in our lives? Is it always in the "big stuff"? Or might God speak to our hearts in quiet, subtle ways - a kind word received, a smile from a stranger, the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, the "new life" of spring, the colors of fall... The task for us becomes noticing - taking the time to notice all the ways, the tiny, subtle ways God blesses us and above all love us so unceasingly every moment of every day - even when we are afraid, even when we doubt, even when we find it difficult to trust.

May the diving and eternal dance of life and love God invites us to enter into always being joy and peace to our hearts.

Peace on the Journey